Editorial

Even though the electricity tariffs for households are to be reduced by 22 per cent as from April 1, it is most unlikely that the issue will disappear from the political radar of the Labour Party and, also, of that of the 11 trade unions that have been rallying for a downward revision ever since the street protest in Valletta last November.

Much water has passed under the bridge since then but, although there have been other, equally preoccupying matters crowding the national agenda and calling for immediate action, the issue over the energy rates has not gone away.

The energy rate cut for commercial and industrial consumers is of 26 per cent and the rates for water consumption are to remain the same. Enemalta is reducing the rates as, following the sharp fall in the price of oil, its costs have dropped by 17 per cent.

When the issue has now been dragging on for so long, it remains to be seen to what extent the people's reaction will be influenced by the stance to be adopted by the 11 trade unions, which have already come out criticising Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt for announcing the rates without first waiting for the resources regulator's approval. In any case, the unions want any downward revision to become effective as from last October, a plea that has already been firmly shot down by the minister. This means that, besides any disagreement over the rate cut that might surface between the government and the unions, the matter over the effective date is also going to remain a sticking point, to be raised over and over again in attacks against the government.

If the issue has dragged on for so long, it is only because the government handled it badly from the very beginning. The argument is not over whether or not the government is right in its plan to remove the subsidy. In this regard, it was, and still is, moving in the right direction. It was the manner in which it went about the plan that was wrong. In the opinion of many, including The Times, the plan ought to have been spread over a longer time span.

Then again, the exercise was not explained well enough to the people. The social partners did not like the way the government treated the matter within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development either and there was much controversy over the data used in the compilation of the tariffs after an auditing firm found that their accuracy had not been verified and tested. The issue also spawned a division in the trade union movement, with one strong member union in the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions later deciding to leave the CMTU. This was a blow to the idea of setting up a trades union council, fielded again following the street protest in Valetta.

But the issue had its positive sides to it as well. More and more people are now becoming aware of the importance of saving on fuel, with greater interest being shown by households in the installation of energy-saving devices.

The plan for Malta to connect to the European grid and to build a wind farm are moving ahead and the government is also thinking of replacing utility meters with computerised tamper-proof ones.

The rate cut may well be overdue and the revision may not meet the expectations of all but it would be folly to expect a return to cheap rates.